


Odium

by DarkJediQueen



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Hate Sex, M/M, Revenge, Rough Sex, Spiteful!Spencer, not a happy fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-25
Updated: 2018-01-11
Packaged: 2018-05-03 08:00:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5283017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkJediQueen/pseuds/DarkJediQueen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>General or widespread hatred or disgust directed toward someone as a result of their actions.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Spite

**Author's Note:**

> **Warnings** : Canon Character Death
> 
>  **Beta** : Reidemption(ch1) & rivermoon1970(ch 2)

Aaron Hotchner looked at the file in his hand. The young man had been the only candidate he'd found that he wanted for the new opening in the BAU. Dave was sitting across from him looking at a second copy of the same time.

"This kid has a serious spiteful streak."

"What?" Aaron asked. He looked at the file in his hand, trying to see what Rossi was seeing.

"There is someone in his life that he wants to show up. In sixteen years this kid has earned six doctorates, five bachelor's, and a Doctor of Juridical Science, which the day he was awarded that he applied at the academy. He's earned degrees to be spiteful. I see that his spousal information is marked as confidential. That only happens in special cases."

Aaron wanted to sigh but he didn't. He kept his face passive. Dave had been dropping hints more and more about his estranged husband. Other than when Dave brought him up, Aaron never thought about him. He was happier alone. His husband was better without him. He'd been an eighteen year old kid when Hotch had met him that single time, the day they married. He'd have long got over the hurt of being left the same day he married. He had his parents to help care for him. Surely he'd found someone that he loved. 

"He's the only candidate I want for the team." Aaron was worried that Dave would object. 

"Oh, he'd be an asset don't get me wrong. Strauss gave him a glowing review on her interview with him."

"I want to do a meeting between the whole team and him before I make the decision. Everyone really liked Anderson and I don't want to disrupt the team after the issues we've had. I have him coming in for the round table meeting. I had JJ find a case that we just need to consult on and we shall see how he does."

Dave nodded his head and closed the file. "Revolver?"

"According to Strauss he failed the exam time and time again until one of the other instructors gave him his personal revolver to try. He got a near perfect once he got used to the gun. I was surprised when he passed the physical aspects and didn't have to have exceptions. He's an academic, it's rare that they aren't given an exception for something. He barely passed but he did pass."

"I saw that. Erin wants him on the team bad doesn't she?" 

"With all those degrees? Yes. She doesn't want someone else to snatch him up. She's afraid that if he doesn't get the BAU position he'll go to the CIA or even international like Interpol." 

A knock on his door and then JJ stuck her head inside. "I have the room set up and Doctor Reid is waiting."

"Let's go." Aaron stood up from his desk and looked out. Morgan and Prentiss were already in the round table room and Garcia was waiting on JJ, they were both walking there. Doctor Reid was standing on the outside of the room, looking down in the bullpen. His messenger bag was slung over his shoulder. Aaron was shocked at seeing the man in a three piece suit, very close to the one he'd worn for the interview a few days prior. His hair was styled nearly the same as it had been, like he belonged in a boyband. He was a beautiful man. Aaron had thought the same thing the first time he'd seen him after Strauss had interviewed him. 

Dave went left to the round table room and Aaron stopped at the bar to catch Doctor Reid's attention. 

"Doctor Reid?" Aaron called out and Reid turned to him. Something flashed in the younger man's eyes but it was gone before he could figure out what it meant. The man was smart beyond anything that Aaron had ever seen before but there was a vulnerability in him as well. His mind fascinated him from the second he'd started to talk. It was a road that he didn't need to go down though. 

"Are you ready to meet the team?"

"Sure!" 

XxXxXxX

Arriving in Boston, the BAU team settled in quickly. Aaron wasn't shocked when Reid settled in with all the old case files. Watching the younger man read was something that never got old. The quick pace of the flip of the pages was becoming soothing to him. The young man himself was just calming. Morgan and JJ had taken to him well and Dave was warming up to him. Garcia had adopted him quite easily and Prentiss was unsure of what to think of him. 

This case was going to be hard. Even if the team had been used to their new member it would have been hard but throwing in a curveball made the case harder. The Boston Reaper was back. Reid had read all the files that Aaron had as well as all books on the Reaper on the jet. 

"Hotch? The glasses on Harvey. We have confirmed that they are Foyet's?" Reid asked as he leaned back to get a line of sight on Aaron as he looked at a file.

"As much as we can. We have no way to contact Foyet."

"You met with Roy Colson earlier. Do you think that he knows where Foyet is?" There was something in his voice. Aaron didn't know him well enough yet to figure it out.

Another set of victims and a day later, Aaron shared his profile with the team in private and then to the LEOs. Reid wanted to go along to talk to Foyet. Aaron couldn't say no. While Dave and him took the lead in talking to Foyet, Reid sat behind and listened, watching Foyet's every single move. When Foyet brought up the proposal, Reid sat up straighter. Aaron was on edge from then on. Aaron waited until they were outside to bring up what was wrong. 

"Rossi, you said that the Reaper could be a hebephile. Foyet had only been with Amanda Bertrand for four weeks. She was younger than him. He was the only survivor and his glasses were the ones held over. I think that very discreet surveillance wouldn't go wrong on him. Whether to protect him or watch him."

"You are saying that you think that Foyet is the Reaper?"

"I think there are too many coincidences. He was a teacher’s assistant. She was from Michigan, where the Reaper had the ad placed."

Aaron listened as he spoke item after item and each one became clearer and clearer. Dave looked at him and nodded his agreement to the statement. Fresh eyes. What fresh eyes and no bias would do for a case. Aaron moved to the SUV and sat down. He called Garcia and she ran his aliases. When he left the car moments later, his gun was drawn. Dave went around to the back and Reid followed him up to the front door. Foyet looked surprised when Aaron burst through the doorway into the kitchen. He raised his hands and that's when Dave came in the back. Foyet reacted by diving for a drawer. He came up with a knife in hand. Aaron didn't hesitate and neither did Reid. Five shots echoed in the room. When the body dropped, Aaron was the first to move to clear the knife. Reid was behind him, grabbing the knife as soon as he raised it. 

Reid had been on the case less than a week and he'd cracked it. 

XxXxXxX

Aaron watched as the gun fired. He quickly shoved Reid and the doctor out of the way but the outcry of pain had him drawing his gun and focusing on the still grieving father. 

"Drop the weapon!"

"Just let me kill him! He killed my son!"

"Your son was dead before he arrived at the hospital. Nothing could have been done to save him." The man raised his gun again and Aaron fired a shot into an arm to drop him. He rushed forward to grab the gun as medics pulled in. JJ and Morgan pulled in as well as Rossi and Prentiss with the doctor's son, Jeffrey. 

"Take care of him first," Reid said to the medics then looked at the doctor. "Go see your son. I'm fine."

Aaron took over keeping pressure on his arm. Reid tried to push him away but Aaron kept it up.There was only so much that he could do to get away before he seriously hurt himself and he knew it. After another minute of struggle, Reid settled down. 

XxXxXxX

Aaron smiled as he let Spencer into his house. He'd asked Spencer on a date and the younger man had agreed to it. They'd stopped at a nice Thai place that he'd been wanting to try. Talk between the two of them had been easy and it had only caused Aaron to fall in love more with the genius. 

Instead of hating him for solving a case that Aaron had worked on for over a decade, Aaron had been happy. Completely fresh eyes had been what was needed. After a month of him being on the team, Aaron had wished they'd have found him as soon as he'd been able to join the FBI. He wondered how their cases would have gone before. He didn't go far down that road but he wondered. It was also after that month that Aaron had figured out that he was falling hard and fast for the genius. The only thing he knew about Spencer's relationship status was that he was alone and that was enough for him. 

Aaron couldn't help himself. He took the lips he'd been dreaming of in a kiss. Spencer moaned into the kiss and gripped his hips, pulling him closer. Aaron traced his lips with his tongue and the younger man's mouth opened. Rocking himself into Spencer's hardness, Aaron lost himself in the taste of Spencer. It was heaven. 

Spencer wasn't idle. His hands ripped Aaron's shirt from his pants and was tracing his lower back now. Aaron moved his own hands to work on Spencer's belt. He'd been dressed in slacks and a simple button down, much less clothes than he normally wore. When the belt and pants were undone, Aaron slipped his hand down inside his boxers and gripped his ass, pulling him closer. He'd wanted the younger man for his body since the moment he met him, the love, that came a lot later. 

"Bed," Aaron whispered as he pulled back. Spencer nodded but his hands didn't let go and he wasn't trying to pull away. "I'm not having sex against the wall."

Spencer laughed, low and sexy, and then he finally let go. Aaron grabbed his hand and pulled him up the stairs to the master bedroom. As soon as they were inside, Spencer pushed him down onto the bed and crawled on top of him. Aaron started to unbutton the younger man's shirt as he was undoing Aaron's pants. Their mouths never separated and Aaron didn't want the kiss to end. It was like he needed the kiss to be able to breathe. 

"Do you have condoms?" Spencer asked, breaking the kiss, causing Aaron to groan. He didn't. He'd been celibate since Haley's death and leaving his husband behind. This was the first time that he'd wanted anyone enough to even attempt a relationship. Even if he had them, the things would be so out of date. 

"No." Aaron groaned and dropped his head back to the bed, staring up at Spencer. The young man was looking at him with a weird look on his face. "There's a corner store two blocks down the road."

"I'm clean. Are you?" Spencer grasped his length in his hand as he asked the question. Aaron moaned as he nodded. Before he could say anything, heat enveloped his cock and he had to keep control not to thrust up into Spencer's mouth. He felt his pants and boxers being pulled down his legs and tried to help as much as he could. Spencer was good at sucking cock. 

Aaron had never wanted sex this much. He'd been obsessed with having sex with Haley but nothing like this. He wanted to feel Spencer inside of him. It had been a long time since he'd had sex with a man. Blindly, he reached out and grabbed the lube from the drawer, nearly pulling it off it's track in his rush. He handed the lube down to Spencer. He watched as Spencer smiled. There was something feral in that smile and it kind of frightened him but he pushed it away as the younger man pushed himself up and off the bed to strip. Aaron sat up enough to get his shirt off. He pulled Spencer back to him and started to kiss him again. The snap of the lube told Aaron that Spencer had decided he couldn't wait any longer. Aaron let himself be laid back on the bed and he felt the first brush of a finger at his hole. 

Spencer looked up at him and waited for Aaron to nod before the finger pushed inside of him. Before he could even think about how weird it felt after so long, Spencer's mouth was on his cock again. By the time that Spencer had three fingers inside of him, Aaron was on the edge. He opened his mouth to tell Spencer when he felt a finger brush is prostate a touch harder and he was coming. He could feel Spencer swallowing and it made him moan even more. 

"Oh, God, Spencer. Please. I need you in me." 

"Are you sure?" Spencer asked as he lined himself up. 

"Yes." Aaron answered and then he felt the head of Spencer's cock start to breech him. He threw his head back as he was filled. There was only a slight burn. When Spencer bottomed out, he held still, letting Aaron adjust. When he felt that he was ready, Aaron thrust down on the cock inside of him and Spencer smiled. Aaron pulled him down to kiss him as he started thrusting in and out of him. He lost himself in the feel of the body moving in him and above him. He had one hand wrapped around Spencer's back and the other was tangled in his hair, holding him close and they thrust together. "Touch me, please Spencer."

Spencer snaked a hand in between them and started to stroke Aaron's hard length. Aaron gasped as his length was stroked to match the younger man's thrusts. Under a minute later he was coming and he felt Spencer follow not long after. He was shocked when Spencer sat up and moved off the bed instead of cuddling with him. He was too tired though to protest. The younger man disappeared and then reappeared several minutes later with a wet rag in hand. Spencer cleaned him and covered him up before going back into the bathroom. He came back out a minute later and slipped under the covers with him. Aaron pulled him close and Spencer settled down quickly with his back to his front. 

Aaron settled his head on his pillow and breathed in the scent of Spencer. "I love you, Spencer," he whispered and he pulled the younger man even closer. He listened but Spencer said nothing back. It sounded as if Spencer was asleep. Aaron smiled against his hair and let himself fall asleep.

XxXxXxX

"Agent Aaron Hotchner?" A man asked as he entered the bullpen. The team was scattered around him, they were discussing going out for drinks that night. Aaron was waiting for Spencer to come back to his desk. He needed to talk to the younger man. He wanted to know why he had fled the bed that morning. Why he had left with no note and wasn't answering his phone.

"Here," Aaron answered as he stood up from where he'd been sitting on the edge of Spencer's desk. The man moved closer to him and held out an envelope. 

"I'm sorry," the man said as he handed over the envelope. "You've been served."

"Hotch?" Morgan asked.

Aaron didn't answer. He's actually been expecting this for nine years. Obviously his husband had found someone. He opened the envelope and pulled out the papers. He was surprised that it was the Virginia courts not Vegas. He read through the papers and saw that it was what he expected, his husband was using his continued absence from his life as grounds for divorce. He looked up and looked at the team. 

"My husband has finally decided that enough is enough and asking for a divorce."

"You're married?" JJ asked.

"Yes. I have been for ten years. I have never seen my husband since the day we married."

"You didn't even look at the name did you?" Dave asked. Aaron looked at him, confused. There was fear in his voice. Hell, there was fear in his eyes. Aaron flipped back to the cover and his heart stopped. He looked up at Dave. "I got sick of you putting me off so I looked up your husband. I was going to try and find a way to slip him into a conversation but I didn't expect that name."

"Where is he?" Aaron dropped the papers and looked around. Spencer's messenger bag wasn't at his desk. He always left it there. Ice crept in his veins. Spencer hated confrontation. He was better getting his point across in other ways. 

"He went to see Strauss just before you got here." Dave sounded heartbroken. 

"What is going on?" Prentiss asked as she looked up at the two men with confusion on her face. JJ and Morgan's had the same look on their faces. 

"Aaron married his arranged spouse ten years ago, flew to see him, married him and left him never seeing or talking to him again. I found out recently who that husband is."

"Who?" JJ asked. There was anger on her face. Hell there was anger on everyone's face, Aaron could see that. He was having trouble breathing. He needed to find Spencer. He needed to talk to him. Aaron pushed away from the hands that tried to grab him as he moved towards Strauss's office. Pushed inside without stopping to talk to the secretary or caring if she was in a meeting. Strauss didn't looked shocked to see him. 

"Agent Hotchner, what can I do for you today?" 

"Where's Spencer?" Aaron asked. He could hear the team behind him but he didn't care.

"Doctor Reid is headed to New York. He gave me his notice three weeks ago and yesterday was his last day. He stated irreconcilable differences with his team lead as his reason for leaving." The way that she spoke and the tone she was using told him that she knew. That she'd known from the beginning. She'd always known that Spencer was his husband. 

"I need to talk to him." Aaron couldn't breathe. He needed to see him. 

"You had ten years to do that Agent Hotchner. I was shocked when he told me the story. I checked it out, not wanting to believe it but it's correct. You've both filed taxes as married but filed separately since then. Somewhere along the way of getting degrees to make him the best candidate for this job, he fell in love with the job and he didn't want to leave it but was going to as he couldn't stand to be around you anymore. I offered him the position in New York. He's going to start up a small BAU unit as the New York field office has asked for one every year. As of midnight, he was no longer on your team. Also I would consider signing the divorce papers, it's the least you can do."

Aaron turned and fled the office. He felt a hand on his shoulder, directing him somewhere but he didn't care where he was going as long as it was away from Strauss. He recognized his desk chair as he was pushed down into it. He could hear voices and tried to listen to them. 

"...told me that he put his mom into Bennington on his eighteenth birthday," JJ said from somewhere to in front of him. "His father had left years before. I..." Then the sound of running feet. Another set of feet moved after the running pair. 

"Is that true?" Morgan asked. 

"Yes. I looked him up and it's true. Just hours before going to meet Aaron to see if they were to marry or were going to defer, he put his mother into Bennington against her wishes as she wouldn't care for herself and he couldn't anymore. I'm not condoning what Aaron did but remember that he'd just lost Haley days before. The best thing he could have done was defer it but he wasn't thinking straight at the time. Look. I'm going to talk to Strauss and get us a week off."

"You knew." Morgan's voice was hard with anger and Aaron couldn't blame him. He felt sick to his stomach. Head falling back, Aaron just listened more to the voices around him. 

"I did but it was private and it wasn't interfering with the team. I never expected this! I've wracked my brain to try and see an inkling of something but there was nothing. Reid is a talented liar. He'll do good in New York and I think that right now, space is what he needs. Go check on JJ and Prentiss and make sure Penelope is informed of what's going on. It's better she hear the truth from you than to hear false gossip or even the truth from someone else."

"Sure." Morgan's footsteps faded away and then the door shut but Aaron could still hear Dave's breathing. 

"What happened last night? You've been looking for Reid since you got in. I know that you two went out to eat last night."

"Dave, I...God, it was a date. I asked him on a date last night and then we went back to my place and..." Aaron couldn't say it. 

"You had sex?"

"Yes," Aaron choked out and then he sighed. "I love him Dave. I told him that last night after we had sex and then I woke up this morning and he was gone. I tried to call him and he didn't answer. I stopped by his apartment and he didn't answer."

"That's some big revenge there. He's a better liar than I thought he was. I'm sorry I can't help anymore than that but Aaron. He was young and he's been on this path for ten years. You two were matched when he was young. Obviously at least on your side, they were correct with the assessment. You fell in love."

"You tried to talk me into deferring before I even went out there. I should have listened. I regretted it a year later. I almost pulled out the marriage certificate from the safe and looked him up. I talked myself out of it because I was ashamed of that night. I broke him. He rebuilt himself pretty strong but you don't go on a revenge streak like this without being strong. I could have...He could have turned in a killer with little issue. We've seen it but I wasn't thinking beyond my own pain. What I felt for Haley doesn't match what I feel for him and I've not known him that long, Dave."

"Take a break, Aaron. Take a few weeks. I can take care of the team. Strauss gave me the file for his replacement. Alex Blake. She'll be here next week as she's finishing her posting elsewhere. Get your head together but don't go after him. Write him a letter and I'll make sure it gets to him."

Aaron nodded and gathered his things. He'd take that. 

_Dear Spencer,_

_I know that this is ten years too late but I am sorry for the pain I caused you. I was a selfish man then and I hurt you in ways that I will never know. That you had the courage to come into the BAU and work beside me day by day and know exactly who I was, is astounding. I won't go into my reasons and they no longer matter._

_I want to congratulate you on everything you have accomplished in your life, despite what I did. Though Dave says that you did it to spite what I did. You deserve the New York team. Your mind is needed in work like this._

_I know that it's too little too late but I do truly regret what I did and I did mean what I said that night. I did fall in love with you._

_I've enclosed the signed divorce papers. If you ever want to talk, you know how to find me._

_Forever Yours,  
Aaron _

Two weeks later, Aaron received a letter in the mail with the return address of the FBI New York Field office.

_I can never forget what happened and I'll never be able to forgive._ Was all the letter said.  
**The End**


	2. Hate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta'd by rivermoon1970

"Where is he?" A man demanded as he stormed into the New York Field Office of the FBI. Spencer looked up as the man looked around. Everyone eyed the stranger in shock. His face wasn't familiar from any of the cases they were working or had worked in the past. He took a few steps forward. He was the Unit Chief of the very small BAU that was still getting it's feet under it. 

"Can I help you?" Spencer called out. The man turned to look at him and then started towards him. When he would look back at that moment he blamed working for too long with little sleep for the reason he didn't recognize the man. It wasn't until his eyes came in clear view and then he could only focus on them, he knew those eyes and he had never thought that he'd see them again, especially on someone who wasn't Aaron. He didn't see the fist coming and he didn't realize that he'd been punched until he was on the floor. Before he could say a thing, his fellow agents had the man tackled and cuffed, frog marching him out. His analyst, Carmen, was coming at him with a bag of peas from the freezer. It had started out as a joke but it had been used time and again after cases. 

"Reid, who was that?"

"I need my cell phone," Spencer mumbled. Carmen grabbed it from the desk he'd been using and handed it to him. He pushed himself up and followed where the agents were taking the man who had punched him. He was actually shocked. Sean and Hotch had made up it seemed, enough for the younger brother to feel like attacking the man who had wronged his brother. The distance had helped him get his mind settled. 

"Doctor Reid, we need to get you checked out," Gilles said as he shoved Sean into a cell.

"I'm fine. I'd like to be alone with Mr. Hotchner."

"Mr. Hotchner...but he's not..." Gilles knew Hotch, had worked on the edge of the last case that had brought the BAU to New York. 

"No, he's Agent Hotchner's younger brother. He's on the other side of bars and he's not me. He can't escape." Spencer leaned against the wall across from Sean and looked at the man. Sean was holding his eyes. 

"I'm not going to tell you sorry."

"I don't expect you to. But you struck a federal agent in FBI headquarters. I'm not going to stop the charges from being filed. I will call your brother though and give him the option of coming up and saving your ass." Spencer pushed off the wall and stepped out of the holding cells. He moved up to his office and sat down in his chair. Finally letting his facade drop as the pain in his jaw ramped up. Sean had done good. He'd have a large bruise and substantial swelling to his face. He sighed and set down his cell phone. He was going to have to use speakerphone. He dialed Hotch's number from memory. It was there just like everything else. 

"Hotchner," Hotch said. His tone was one that Spencer knew. He knew that it was Spencer on the other end of the line. It had been over a year and still his heart raced at the sound of his voice. 

"Hotch, I have a very pissed off Sean Hotchner in my holding cell in New York."

"What did he do?" Hotch sounded upset, exactly like he did when Sean was ever brought up around the team. 

"I am assuming that he paid you a visit recently?"

"Yes. He came to mend fences a little more."

"I say that those fences are very high right now. Or at least my jaw feels like they are. He got into headquarters here, I am assuming telling them that his brother worked in the BAU. He stormed into my bullpen and threw out a punch that, thankfully, didn't break my jaw. I won't stop charges from being filed. I have a hard enough time as Unit Chief for the BAU team and those teams around us. I won't, however, stop someone else from stopping the charges."

"New York is still a mess after Kate Joyner's death isn't it?"

"Very much so."

"I'll be in New York as soon as possible. We are on stand down right now. I'm sorry. I didn't know that he was going to do that."

Spencer was good at reading verbal ques and it very much didn't seem like Hotch was in a good place at all. He kept his mouth shut. He remembered the picture that Carmen had showed him. It wasn't his circus and it wasn't his monkeys. He hit end on the call and closed his eyes, bringing the bag of peas to his face. He was getting ready to see his now ex-husband after a year. He wasn't sure he was ready for that.

XxXxXxX

Aaron adjusted his tie as he slipped into the FBI headquarters in New York City. His ID badge on full display as he moved to the elevator. Reid had messaged him that the New York BAU team was on the sixth floor. Aaron found it funny, but hadn't asked Reid if he found it funny as well. He punched the sixth floor button as the doors closed. 

When the doors opened under a minute later, found Reid standing there. He looked just as shocked as Aaron felt. The urge to kiss him was overwhelming, but he kept it in check. 

"You look like shit," Reid said. His hand moved and his thumb brushed the bags under Aaron's eyes. Aaron closed his eyes. The hand moved away. "Carmen will handle everything with you."

Aaron opened his eyes to see Reid leaving. He was walking away. Aaron though wasn't going to cause a scene. One Hotchner had already done that. Instead, Aaron waited until a woman came over to him to help him. He got a lot of looks that told him that the team that Reid had in New York was fiercely protective of him. 

Two hours later, Aaron was using a borrowed SUV to drop off Sean off at his apartment with a promise from him to never seek out Reid again. Sean didn't like agreeing, but it was the only way that Aaron would get him off on the charges. Aaron though, had no plans on letting Reid go without a talk. A call to Kevin Lynch had given Aaron the address of Reid in New York. He wasn't shocked that it wasn't that far from the Federal Building. 

Aaron parked in the guest parking and made his way to the thirteenth floor. He had been a little shocked that the building had a thirteenth floor, but he wasn't shocked that Reid was living on it. It wasn't hard to figure out the door given that it was nearing Halloween. and Aaron knew that it was his favorite holiday. His door was covered in cute little scary faces. Aaron rapped on the door and waited.

When Reid opened the door, he looked pissed. He just stared at Aaron but didn't move to let him inside at all.

"It's about time for us to talk, don't you think?"

"Alone in my apartment? No. Out and about at the diner around the block, sure."

"No. Here." Aaron could feel his rage starting to simmer just under his skin. It seemed that Reid pushed all those buttons in him. He pushed on the door and only the shock of Aaron doing it allowed him in. He shut the door and Reid's eyes twitched over towards where Aaron was sure his bedroom was. "We are going to talk, Reid."

"Fuck you, Hotch." Reid moved to turn away from him and Aaron just snapped. He shoved Reid and when the man stumbled, Aaron pushed him again. Reid spun and put a wall to his back and Aaron struck. He grabbed the shoulders of the other man and pinned him to the wall. He only felt like this around Reid. The anger that he was usually so good at controlling was right there ready to explode.

"You seriously are a cold hearted little bitch aren't you?" Aaron asked as he looked into Reid's hard eyes. He'd truly just been a revenge piece. "Maybe it was a good thing that I married you and left you. I shudder to think the life I would have had if I had stayed."

The slap came at him so hard that Aaron swore that his eyes were going to pop out of his head. Reid raised it up again, but as it came at him, Aaron grabbed it. He pinned Reid's wrist to the wall and waited. Reid raised his other hand and tried to shove, but Aaron was a lot more solid than him. Aaron used the pinned hand to spin Spencer around, holding him against the wall and linking both of his wrists in one of Aaron's hands. Aaron pressed himself into Reid's back, keeping him pressed to the wall. The close proximity between them had Aaron starting to harden. He remembered their single night together. 

There was no reason for what Aaron did next. He pressed his cock into Reid's ass. Reid stopped the wiggling that he had been doing to try to escape. The younger man gasped as his whole body stilled. Whatever had caused them to be linked as mates was still there. They could have been perfect. 

"If we aren't going to talk, we are going to fuck. You left before I could have you," Aaron said lowly in Reid's ear. He felt the full body shiver the younger man gave at his words. Aaron let go of his hands and slid one around his hip, feeling his cock. It was hard. He jerked the zipper down and reached inside, grabbing hot flesh. Reid thrust into his hand. Aaron pulled his hand free and grabbed the sides of his pants, jerking them down. He heard ripping, but didn't care. The pants pooled around Reid's feet but Aaron didn't even pause at all. Fingers were shoved into Reid's mouth as soon as he could. Reid didn't even need any prompting as he made Aaron's fingers as wet as he could. Aaron worked his own pants open and pulled out his cock. He took his fingers and slid them hard and fast into Reid. 

Reid screamed as he was breached. It wasn't anything that scared Aaron, though, because he wasn't saying no. Aaron worked the fingers in and out several times before he pulled them almost all the way out and then spit down on them. He worked that all around Reid's hole before working as much inside, around the passage as he could. Reid's hand shot out and felt around on top of the stand just on the other side of him. Aaron saw a bag and grabbed it with his free hand. Inside was a bottle of lube. There was a bottle of painkillers and stomach antacids in there as well so it was just a normal trip to the store to stock up on things. He dumped out the lube into his other hand before ripping off the lid and taking off the little seal. Reid didn't even try and get away from him, just leaned into the wall panting. 

Aaron slicked up his cock with the lube, but didn't press his fingers inside of Reid, instead he just smeared them a little over his hole before he was pushing the head of his cock inside of Spencer. Aaron wasn't fast with breaching him. He knew that he didn't want to hurt him that way, no matter how angry he was. He bottomed out inside of his ex-husband and groaned at the feel of tight muscles gripping him just right. 

"Fuck me, Hotch." Reid shoved back with his body and Aaron growled, slamming him back into the wall. He lost it. Aaron fucked him hard and fast, not caring what happened to Reid. Aaron chased his own orgasm. He shut out pleasured cries from Reid mouth, keeping him right where he could take what he wanted from him. 

As Aaron finally crested, he reached around to find that Reid was soft. Aaron felt bad. He hadn't meant to lose control like he had, he hadn't wanted to hurt him. He opened his mouth as he pulled his hand away but a wet spot on the wall had him shutting it. He dropped his head down onto Reid's shoulder as the younger man slumped down. They were both breathing like they had run a marathon. Aaron carefully pulled out of Reid and couldn't help looking for blood. There was none. He hadn't been gentle at all so he was a little shocked. 

"I can hear your angst. Don't." Reid turned in the shelter of Aaron's arms. He didn't say anything but just stared for a few minutes. "I didn't take you as the type for angry sex."

"I didn't think I was either, but you pissed me off so bad." Aaron reached up and touched just at the edge of the bruise forming on Reid's face. Reid stilled as Aaron leaned down but he didn't shove him away. Aaron kissed the skin under his eye. "I am sorry for what he did. He's always been impulsive. Did someone look at it?"

"One of the other agents was a field medic. Nothing is broken. I don't...I don't understand my feelings for you." 

"I don't think that either of us can really say that we act like healthy adults around each other." Aaron looked at the clock on the wall. He had five hours until his return flight back to DC. "Can we talk? Really talk. That's what I have missed the most, just being able to talk to someone."

"I'm going to shower. My guest room has some clothes that members of my team have left when they have stayed over after injuries. There is a full bath in there. I..." Reid looked away. "I miss talking too."

XxXxXxX

The talking didn't start until after they had both showered and changed, and after Chinese had been delivered for dinner. A phone call had come in from upstate New York about a case that Reid had been tele-consulting on. Aaron had listened with half an ear as the younger man talked about the seemingly obsessional stalker that was plaguing the small town. Reid had been in the kitchen making a pot of coffee when the doorbell had rung for food, so Aaron had paid and carried the food in there. 

Reid looked at him, his face calm and serene. He nodded at the food and held up a finger. Aaron set about setting up the food as he listened to Reid explain things to do to try and catch the stalker. Aaron grabbed a pad of paper and wrote down something. Reid moved over and read it when Aaron flipped it around. 

"No, Sir. I will gladly come up when you want to look over it all." Reid grabbed the pen from Aaron's hand and scratched down two words. _Stalking police_. Aaron raised an eyebrow at that. Whoever the stalker was they were stupid brave. "Tomorrow? Sure. I'll drive up early in the morning. See you then."

"There is someone stalking the police?" Aaron asked as he handed over a set of chopsticks. Reid looked at them and grabbed the fork that Aaron hadn't even realized had been in the napkins.

"Yes. They know my address and know I can't use chopsticks. They always pack a fork." Reid grabbed the box of food that was marked hot. He popped it open. "No one balked at me using them on cases because we all did because we worked and ate."

"Yeah I never thought of it. I gave the address and the man on the other end said he knew what you wanted."

"I order pretty much the same thing. I get brave on occasion." Reid opened his box and started to eat something that looked like it would set Aaron's mouth on fire. The smaller box of noodles was opened next. Reid pointed his fork at him. "What I did probably wasn't the best reaction, but I didn't think that the team would side with me. I kept myself from them for a reason. I'm sorry that they have been acting like they have. I have e-mailed the lot of them, including JJ and told them to step out of the situation."

"Thank you."

"It's the least I could do. You know I had this big revenge thing planned. I was going to swoop in and show you up. Get you to fall for me, because at the core, those tests have never failed. You and I are perfect for each other, outside things messed everything up. You were almost double my age. I knew that long before I saw you. I just... I never thought that you'd just leave like you did. There are no cases of that. I didn't have anyone to help me fight. You'd done your part and married me like the government demanded. They didn't care about the state of my life or yours. It wasn't until much later that I learned of the accident that took Haley from you, and while it helped me to understand, there were other paths that you could have taken. You chose the worse thing for the both of us."

"I should have asked for a deferment. I was the older and should have been the wiser, but I can't take that back. I can't fix that, but I do miss talking to you. I don't know though if I can ever forget the harm I have done you. Or the harm you did me."

"I know. That-" Reid waved into the living room. "Shows we have sexual feelings, but that's not all a relationship can be based on. I still look at you and see you leaving me. Can we just do maybe texts and emails? Calls if we need?" 

"That sounds good. It sounds really good." Aaron felt a weight in his chest release. He smiled at his ex and he smiled back. It was better than how things had been. It was better than what he'd had a few months before. He was truthful though. Reid and he were better apart. Better not in a relationship, but having someone to talk to that understood the job was enough for now. Maybe one day they could even call themselves friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapters for this will be at a slow rate. I have to be in a certain mood to work on them. Please do not badger me for more.


	3. Acceptance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta: Grammarly

# Chapter Three-Acceptance

Aaron heard the knock on his door and frowned. It was way too late at night for it to be anything good. Aaron knew that if the person really wanted to wait for him, they would while he went to his safe and got his gun out. Aaron took the safety off of his gun, and he looked out the peephole. Aaron could see a bent head and a mop of near wild brown hair. Aaron put his gun hand behind his back and threw the deadbolt and turned off his alarm before he unlocked the regular lock.

Nearly dropping his gun, Aaron took in the sight of Spencer Reid on the other side of his door. Aaron hadn't seen him in years. Five years since Aaron had looked at Reid's. He had heard Reid's voice a lot more in the past six months, the emails and texts had been substantial over the five years, and Aaron knew that they were dancing around something that neither of them wanted to admit. Over the past six months though, Reid had been calling Aaron at least twice a week just to talk over everything. However, in the recent two weeks, Reid had been radio silent except for a single text that said that he was dealing with some things and not to be worried.

Aaron had let that pass for a week. Then he had called Reid's office and got a new person who was more than willing to tell Unit Chief Hotchner that Doctor Reid was in Las Vegas visiting his mother. If the consult could wait, Doctor Reid would be more than willing to look at the case. Aaron had rung off saying that he would call back when Doctor Reid was back to work.

"Reid?" Aaron asked as he tried to figure out and today was the day that Reid was supposed to be back from Vegas and the next his first day back at work in New York. Yet here he was in DC, outside of Aaron's house. Aaron set the gun down on the stand just inside the door.

Reid looked up at him, and Aaron gasped at the pure sadness in his eyes. He wasn't expecting that. Aaron reached out and cupped the side of Reid's face before drawing him into his arms. Aaron stood there with Reid in his arms, and it hurt. It hurt so much because as much as Aaron knew that he and Reid were not cut out to be in a relationship after everything that happened, his heart refused to fall out of love with the young genius. Aaron had been living with the love for six years, and it had no hope of dying. Feeling Reid in his arms again made his heart sing out in happiness despite what was apparently wrong with the younger man.

Aaron took a few steps back, pulling the younger man with him before he shut the door. Aaron set the alarm with a few button presses and threw both the lock and the deadbolt. Aaron glanced at the gun and decided to leave it. It wasn't like Reid couldn't have got into the safe, it was Reid's birthday after all, and while it might throw him for a little while, Reid would get it at some point.

Reid started to shudder in Aaron's arms, and it wasn't until Aaron heard the sob that he realized that Reid was crying.

"I've got you," Aaron whispered into Reid's hair. Reid all but sagged in Aaron's arms and Aaron knew that he needed to get them to the couch because he wasn't going to be able to hold Reid for long. Reid didn't fight him, not when Aaron started to move and not when Aaron pulled him down with him when they sat down on the couch. There was no graceful way of sitting down when a grown man was clinging to you so Aaron just let himself drop and Reid dropped with him. Aaron wrapped his arms around Reid even tighter as the younger man settled onto him, straddling his legs and his arms around Aaron's neck.

Aaron wondered what had made Reid seek him out. He didn't know why the younger man would do that. They had made a promise that they didn't need to be in the same room ever again, but it seemed that whatever happened negated that. Aaron sought out his phone on the stand beside the couch and typed out a text to Dave to tell him that when the time was right, he would explain what was going on, but he might be late for work or not even been in the next day.

Dave's reply was quick and while Aaron could tell that Dave wanted to ask, he didn't. Dave could be a regular, not nosy person on occasion. Aaron started to rub his hand up and down Reid's back, trying to settle the sobbing man down but it was as if it did the opposite, Reid started to sob even harder.

"You are safe, Reid." Aaron used the tone that he used with children on cases, but he was sure that Reid was sobbing too hard to really tell that.

Aaron lost track of time as Reid gave into whatever purge his body needed. Both of their shirts were wet from tears, and Aaron knew that there was snot on there as well, but he didn't care. That was what drycleaning was for. Reid took a deep breath at one point, and his body shuddered before he sat up and looked at Aaron. That overwhelming sadness was gone from Reid's eyes, and Aaron opened his mouth to ask what was going on when Reid ducked forward and kissed him.

The taste of tears was what made Aaron push the younger man back. Aaron knew that while his body and his heart would love to console Reid with his cock, Aaron's brain said that Reid was too compromised to make a decision about it all.

"Reid," Aaron coaxed as he held Reid's face away from his own. He pressed a kiss to Reid's forehead though to show that he wasn't upset. "Tell me what happened in Vegas."

Reid snorted before he opened his eyes and looked at Aaron again. "I should have known that you would figure out where I was."

"You have a new member on your team, and he was more than willing to tell Unit Chief Hotchner that you were in Vegas and that the consult I wanted help on was going to have to wait. He at least made sure that I was who I said I was before telling me."

"I made my team promise to never bring you up as my ex. Slowly as people have changed in the office, few know. Carmen is still there, and I am sure that she ripped Josh a new one for telling, but she'll keep it a secret. I hated that everyone tiptoed after your brother punched me. Carmen is the only know that knows the whole truth."

"Seems like you and she are close, why aren't you with her?" Aaron wanted to know, but he didn't as well. He hoped that it was because Aaron was the only person that he wanted to go to but he was afraid that it was because Aaron already knew every aspect of Reid's past when it came to his mother. Going home to Vegas meant that it had to do with his mother, he didn't see Reid going home to do anything to do with his father.

"I don't know." Reid glanced away from Aaron's face for a few seconds before he looked back. Aaron wasn't sure what was in his eyes when he looked back, but Reid was trying to hide. He knew why he was there, but he didn't want to admit it. Aaron reached up and cupped the sides of his face again, forcing Reid to keep looking at him. "Don't."

"You came here, and you know why. If you want to leave right now, I'll let you. I'll put you in a cab, and I'll wait for you to text me or call me or even email me. If you stay, there is no hiding."

Reid let out a little whine, and his eyes darted away from Aaron's face, but they came back just as quick. The next whine was louder, and Aaron almost relented. He was glad he didn't though when Spencer sagged a little in his arms.

"Why couldn't you just let me fuck my emotions out?"

"Why didn't you go and find a nameless, faceless stranger out there to fuck your emotions out?" Aaron asked. Reid bit his lip instead of answering. "If you had truly wanted to fuck to get the emotions out, you never would have shown up here. You might think that you want to fuck to get it all out, but you don't really. Now tell me, what happened in Vegas?"

"Mom's been out of sorts for a little while. She's all of a sudden having severe mood swings which is not a side effect of the pill cocktail that she is on. Doctor Norman wanted me to come out and see if I could help him figure out what is going on with her. It took seconds because when I entered her room, she didn't know me."

"You've said before that she's mistaken you for a student."

"Yes, but she's never asked me who I am. Part of her has always been able to connect me with someone that she knows and can trust. This time there was nothing. She didn't know me at all." Spencer's eyes started to leak tears again, and Aaron brushed at them with his thumbs, and it made Reid shut his eyes in something like pleasure. He pressed down into Aaron's hands, taking what little pleasure he could from it.

"What's wrong with her?"

"Early-onset Alzheimer's. It was hard to figure out a range of medication that she could take without it bothering her schizophrenia. It's also made it necessary for her to be moved into a wing that doesn't allow it's residents out. She will have just as much freedom of moving around Bennington but she won't be able to go out on her own anymore. She's very upset with me. She doesn't understand why she was moved from the place that she had been in for over a decade and she won't accept that she had Alzheimer's."

"I know that you passed the age for turning schizophrenic but can you be tested for Alzheimer's?" Aaron asked.

"Once again, I'm too young. It won't be something that can be done until I'm in my forties. Even then it'll be when I start to develop symptoms."

"What do you need?"

"I don't know. I got a hold of my section chief and told him that I needed time and told him what was wrong. He was more than willing to give me what I needed. Given that I've only taken about a week of leave a year in the five years I've been there, he's letting me take as much time I need. My second is good, and between him and Carmen, they will run the team well in my absence. I need sleep I know that. I've not slept a lot in the past two weeks."

"Then why don't I get the guest room cleaned up and you can crash there?"

"Okay." Reid pushed at Aaron's hands until he took them away from Reid's face and Reid laid his head on Aaron' shoulder, just hunched there until Aaron wrapped his arms around him. Aaron's heart ached for Reid. He had no clue what he could do to help the younger man. He had no clue if there was anything that could be done to help him.

A long time later, Reid finally got up off of Aaron's lap and waited for Aaron to guide him up to the guest room.

"Where are your things?" Aaron didn't even realize that until then Reid hadn't been holding anything. There was no messenger bag, no suitcase.

"My messenger bag is outside, and I have go-bag with clothes in it in long-term storage at the airport closest to Bennington. I buy soap and stuff when I get there. SO I have nothing here."

"You'll fit into pants to sleep in for tonight. Tomorrow we can go out and get some new clothes for you. I'll throw these in the wash tonight."

"Okay," Reid said, and he sounded so tired that Aaron was sure that he would be out as soon as he was in bed. Aaron found a pair of sleep pants that were a little tight around his waist but had a tie so that they wouldn't fall off of Reid. He directed Reid into his bathroom in the master bedroom before going to the guest room to get it turned down.

Aaron heard the shuffling footsteps that signaled Reid's arrival into the bedroom. Aaron turned to see him leaning in the doorway with a soft smile on his face.

"TARDIS sleep pants?"

"I saw them in the store and thought they looked soft and I remembered you talking about Doctor Who. I've caught a few episodes here and there. They shrunk a little more in the wash than expected, so I don't wear them often."

Reid shuffled forward, and Aaron held up the blanket. Reid didn't even pause before he slipped into the bed and pulled the sheets up to his head. Aaron sat down on the edge of the bed.

"I'll go outside and get your bag and set it in here. Are your clothes in the bathroom?"

"Yes."

Aaron brushed at the hair on Reid's forehead and started to stand up. Reid's hand shot out and grabbed Aaron's.

"Thank you," Reid said.

"You are welcome. Get some sleep."

Aaron turned out the light as he left the room. He started a load of Reid's clothes before he went to hunt down his bag. Aaron knew that Reid was asleep when he heard the soft snores from where Reid had been crying earlier. Aaron leaned in and watched Reid sleep for a few minutes before he turned to go to bed himself.

XxXxXxX

Spencer swallowed as he rode the elevator up to the sixth floor of the Academy building where the BAU was located. He hadn't been inside of the building in six years, and he was feeling like he was stepping into the lion's den. Hotch had been very friendly and had allowed him to stay for a week since he had found himself outside of Hotch's door instead of his own apartment in New York.

That week had been good. Hotch didn't push, and he didn't make Spencer talk at all. Instead, it had just been a blanket freedom to do as Spencer wished. Hotch's home office was Spencer's while he tried to figure out what he wanted to do and when Spencer had talked to Hotch about it Hotch talked him out of pulling his mom from the only place she knew.

Spencer had gone out the day before using the car that Hotch had left for him to use and got a new suit. He was dressed in that now. JJ had picked Hotch up from the house and Hotch had never told Spencer what he had told JJ. There was no one in the bullpen that Spencer knew. He knew that JJ should be in the bullpen as her desk was there since she was a full profiler now. Morgan was probably in his office as was Garcia. Rossi was in his office; Spencer could see the top of his head. A woman was standing in the middle of the bullpen looking at a folder.

As Spencer approached her, she looked up at him.

"Hello, can I help you?" the woman asked. She held out her hand for a shake. Spencer used the two cups of coffee in his hands as a reason not to. Spencer wondered if this was Tara Lewis.

"I'm here-" Spencer stopped when he heard a gasp.

"Reid?" Morgan questioned.

Spencer turned around to see Morgan, JJ, and Garcia standing there at the exit of the hallway from Morgan's office.

"Hi," Spencer said, and his voice cracked over that word. Spencer had heard nothing from them after he had emailed each of them with a cease and desist from making Hotch out to be the bad guy in what happened. Spencer wasn't sure what kind of reception he was going to get.

"You are looking good," Morgan said with a smile as he started toward Spencer. JJ and Garcia followed.

"Thanks, you do too," Spencer said, and he smiled at Morgan. JJ did look happy to see him, and Garcia just looked shocked.

"What are you doing here?" JJ asked. Her eyes were darting to the coffee cups in his hands. Spencer took a drink of one and realized at the last second it was the wrong one. He grimaced and shuddered before taking a sip of the other cup.

"I came to talk to Hotch. Is he in his office?"

"No. He's in a meeting with Cruz. Our newest member quit a little over a week ago, and they are discussing who to replace him with."

"Reid?" Hotch questioned from behind Spencer. Spencer turned and took a few steps toward him, offering the cup of coffee that he had got for his ex.

"I got you a cup of coffee. Do you have a few minutes to talk?"

"Who is this?" A voice asked from behind Hotch. Spencer looked at him and recognized him from his picture. Mateo Cruz. Spencer handed over the cup of coffee and rubbed his slightly sweaty hand on his pants before offering it to Cruz. Hotch hissed in shock a little.

"Mateo, this is Doctor Spencer Reid, Reid this is Mateo Cruz our Section Chief."

"You are the Unit Chief for New York's BAU right?" Cruz asked.

"Umm...Not as of seven this morning. I turned in my resignation for that office."

"Really?" Hotch and Morgan asked at the same time.

"Yes. I have a few things in my personal life that make it hard for me to lead a team and focus on what I need to focus on. I have a solid secondary that I trust to take over and my analyst Carmen will make sure that the team stays shipshape."

"So why are you here?" Morgan asked.

"I hear you are down a team member..." Spencer trailed off. Hotch's eyes widened in shock. "If the team all agrees."

"Why would we need to agree?" Tara asked.

"Doctor Reid was on the team about six years before," Cruz stated. He looked at Spencer with a little glare. "The reasons behind him leaving are not stated in his personnel file just that he was approved to start up a BAU unit in New York."

"I agree," Garcia said. JJ and Morgan looked at Hotch, and when Hotch nodded, they nodded as well. Spencer knew that they would have to disclose it all to Cruz and to Tara.

"Can we take this someplace a little more private?" Spencer asked.

The group made their way up to the round table room, grabbing Rossi as they moved. Rossi looked very shocked to see him. Spencer was shocked that Hotch hadn't told him at all about Spencer being in town and staying in Hotch's guest room.

Hotch was the one to take charge and lay it all out, the good and the bad of their past together. Cruz looked very skeptical about it all.

"I arrived in DC almost a week ago. The night that you guys took down the rest of the people that were after Garcia. I've been staying with Hotch since then while I figured out what to do with Mom. Who has Alzheimer's on top of her schizophrenia. We haven't killed each other yet."

"It's up to you, Aaron," Cruz said. Cruz stood up and walked to the door. "He would be a good asset to the team, just like he was the last time. I don't want to push him on your though if you don't want him. There is a lot of history, and I can't block him on the basis that you and he have a history. Soulmates can't be blocked from jobs no matter their status with their mate."

"Why don't we try a six-month trial?" Spencer offered.

"I agree," Hotch said, and he looked at Spencer with as oft look on his face. Spencer smiled at him and hoped that he didn't regret this. There was so much that could go wrong with this but more that could go well. The rest of the team wandered out, leaving Spencer and Hotch alone.

"Gideon came to Cal-Tech before I had known who my mate was going to be," Spencer said. He had never told his ex about any of it before. One of the two last secrets that he held close to himself. The last secret was going to stay a secret forever, he didn't want to hurt his ex anymore than he already had.

"How old were you?"

"Just turned seventeen. I guess he had remembered me from a lecture he had given the year before and had been watching me. He talked me into applying to the Academy when I turned old enough, and he promised that he would put me on his team as soon as I graduated. If the Government had kept out of it, we would have met about four years later than we did and would have grown into the love that we had instead of what they did. You would have had a few years to get over Haley, and we would have met with a blank slate."

"You never...Why haven't you told me this before?"

"It took me a long time to get over the anger, Hotch. I don't even know when I actually did let go of it. I just realized that I could think of you and not get angry. I want this to be our clean slate. We can try and learn to really be friends and coworkers."

"Okay," Hotch said with a smile on his face. He set down his cup of coffee and walked over to Spencer. "Hello, my name is Aaron Hotchner."

Spencer stood up and took the hand and shook it with a smile on his face. "Spencer Reid, it's nice to meet you, Aaron."

"It's nice to meet you as well, Spencer."

"I signed the lease on an apartment today, and I need a few days to get my things in New York packed up and sent down."

"Savannah is out of town for a medical conference. Why don't you see if organ will help you? He's good at that kind of thing. Maybe you could rent a truck, and you two drive them back down?"

"I'll ask. I am really excited to be on this team."

"I'm excited to have you on the team."


	4. Almost

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta: Grammarly

# Chapter 4-Almost

Aaron tried to roll over onto his back but found that his arm was trapped by something. He opened his eyes to see a mess of hair in front of him, and he tried to remember what the hell had happened the night before for him to have ended up in bed with someone. The only thing that Aaron knew was that he was in his bed. The person he was in bed with was asleep with their head on Aaron's left arm, and his right arm was wrapped around them with the person holding onto it almost for dear life. Aaron couldn't pull back at all to see who he was with he could just barely lift his head up to look, and it wasn't until Aaron saw a tie that was thrown over the mirror on the far side of the room that he realized that he was in bed with Spencer.

Naked in bed with Spencer because he could feel only skin between them.

"Spencer," Aaron said, and he shook his left arm, making Spencer's head bounce up and down some. As Spencer fought waking up, Aaron started to remember some of the night before. A dinner out with the team and Prentiss and way too much alcohol. Aaron groaned because he didn't have a hangover which meant that he had not drunk as much as he thought or Spencer had plied him with a lot of water, which there was a very hazy memory of drinking from a bottle with Spencer holding it for him because his hands wouldn't stop touching Spencer.

"Go away," Spencer said as Aaron bounced his arm even more.

"Hard to when you are keeping me here," Aaron said just low enough to be heard but not loud enough to he hoped it hurt Spencer's head if he was hungover. Aaron couldn't remember if Spencer had drunk water the night before or not. Aaron could feel his bladder protesting not getting up and peeing, and he really didn't want to have an accident.

Finally, Spencer rolled onto his front, letting go of Aaron's arm and removing his head from Aaron's other arm. Aaron rushed to the bathroom to relieve himself.

Aaron returned to the bedroom after washing his hands to see that their clothes were scattered everywhere. Aaron cleaned that up, putting his in a pile and getting Spencer's into another pile and realized that he was short a sock for Spencer. Aaron lifted the end of the blankets to find that Spencer was still wearing it. Aaron gently peeled it off of Spencer's foot before adding it to the pile. Aaron was still naked, and he didn't feel like getting dressed in anything, even underwear, so he slipped back into bed and wrapped himself around Spencer. Spencer was warm and so very pliant, and Aaron could feel his cock responding. Now that he was more awake, Aaron could smell the scent of sex in the air, and he groaned before burying his face in Spencer's neck.

Spencer hummed, still mostly asleep it seemed and wiggled back into Aaron. Aaron was trying to remember what had happened the night before. He remembered Prentiss's utter shock at seeing Spencer on the team which meant that Morgan, JJ, and Garcia had not told her about it. Prentiss had been standoffish to Spencer right up until Aaron had come back with a cup of coffee for Spencer and Spencer had smiled at Aaron with happiness on his face. Prentiss had cooled down and even started to talk to Spencer about things that were not case related.

Prentiss was finally married to her soulmate, who had followed her to England after leaving the BAU. Garcia was the only one who wasn't married or hadn't been married to their mate. Lewis and her mate were happily married and her husband a lovely man who wrote books for his job and could work anywhere had followed Lewis to DC when she had transferred in.

After finishing the case, there had been a lot of drinks and a lot of food, and that was where Aaron's memory started to go hazy, except for one blindingly bright memory. The look on Spencer's face when Aaron had pushed into him. That answered the question of who had fucked who but Aaron hated that it seemed to have been less of fucking and more lovemaking and Aaron had no memory of it.

"Shush," Spencer said as he wiggled back into Aaron a little more, his ass rubbing on Aaron's swiftly hardening cock. Aaron's cock slipped into Spencer's crack like it was searching for a warm place to settle for a long time. Aaron moaned as he felt the heat of Spencer's hole on his cock. Aaron couldn't help pulling Spencer back onto his side and thrusting his cock up and down that crack a little, a hand braced on Spencer's stomach to keep him right where he wanted him.

Aaron moaned again as he felt Spencer clench his cheeks as they rocked together. Aaron felt Spencer go stiff and he drifted his hand down to see if maybe just that had made Spencer orgasm. Instead of a hard cock, Aaron was shocked to find that as soon as his hand started to brush the hair around Spencer's cock, Spencer jerked out of his hold and practically jumped off of the bed.

Spencer spun and looked down at Aaron, his hand going for the pair of glasses on the nightstand and slipping them on.

"No," Spencer said. He closed his eyes and opened them again, pinching himself as he did. Aaron stayed where he was because he wasn't sure what Spencer was going to do. He had no idea what Spencer remembered. Spencer's eyes tracked around the room, and Aaron knew when he had spotted his clothes. As Spencer made for his clothes, Aaron slipped off of the bed and went to the door. Spencer had his legs in his underwear and was pulling them up when he realized that Aaron was blocking his only way out. "Hotch."

"I thought we were on a first name basis, Spencer," Aaron said.

"Just let me go."

"No. I've let you run away from me too many times. I know that we need to talk about this or it'll be another thing that we never talk about again." Aaron wasn't going move until he and Spencer talked.

"We know that if we try this, it's going to get to the point like last time. We aren't good for each other."

"We weren't six years ago, and we weren't five years ago. Things have changed. We've changed. It's been good these past months since you've come back to the team. We've not hurt each other once, we've not been at each other's throats. We've been damned good."

"Yeah, and it took alcohol to get us to fuck."

"It removed the inhibitions we have of being afraid of hurting each other. It was us, just glorious us, acting on what we know that we both feel."

"We both feel?" Spencer questioned, but Aaron could see the fear there. Of being denied what he knew that he wanted but was too afraid to ask. Aaron stepped away from the door and grabbed Spencer's hands to pull his ex closer to him. Spencer gasped, and Aaron kissed him. The kiss was so utterly perfect. Aaron had never known a kiss could feel like this did. He never wanted it to end.

"I love you," Aaron whispered as he pulled out of the kiss. This time Spencer wasn't asleep, and Aaron wasn't so unsure of himself.

"Aaron," Spencer whispered before he leaned up and kissed Aaron again. Spencer's hands tugged on Aaron's, and Aaron let go. Aaron hoped that he wasn't going to bolt away.

"Do we get a do-over, " Aaron asked as he pulled out of the kiss. He pressed a simple kiss to the end of Spencer's nose.

"A do-over?" Spencer asked, he sounded very confused and it was a good sound for him, being so on top of everything when they were working. He wasn't as unworldly as he had been when he had been on the team the first time. In fact, Aaron would say that his time in New York had done a lot for him socially.

"I have one very hazy memory of me making love to you last night; I want more than that. The one time before that I've had you, I wouldn't call it lovemaking."

"You want a mulligan on sex last night?" Spencer asked, sounding a little less punch drunk from their kiss. He opened his eyes and looked into Aaron's. "You can have a mulligan."

Aaron settled his hands on Spencer's shoulders before trailing them down his naked skin. Aaron gripped the underside of Spencer's buttcheeks and lifted. Spencer gasped and laughed as he wrapped his legs around Aaron's waist and near screamed when Aaron started to walk them back toward the bed. Spencer settled into laughing as Aaron leaned then down onto the bed. Spencer tightened his legs around Aaron and didn't let go until he was settled on the bed with Aaron above him.

"Do you honestly want this?" Aaron asked.

"Yes, I do. I want to remember this and not the hazy memories of last night as well."

"Good."

XxXxXxX

Spencer settled onto the bed, and it wasn't long before Aaron pulled him back into his chest. It had been good, Aaron making love to him. Spencer was still riding on the high of the emotions from that. It was everything that their three prior times had not been. Unlike Aaron, Spencer remembered every single moment of the night before, just like his mind remembered that time where Aaron had taken him against the wall in Spencer's apartment in New York and when Spencer had taken Aaron that first time.

"What are you thinking about?"

"My first times." Spencer felt Aaron stiffen at his back. Spencer lifted Aaron's hand and kissed the back of it before rotating it to kiss the palm. "I almost did it once with a professor after I turned eighteen. Before, I was in love with the notion of waiting for my wedding night. I never thought myself a romantic until that point. Then while I was working on my law doctorate, one of the professors that I had not had as a teacher at that point propositioned me. We were there on the desk in his office, and I just had the thought that I didn't want to have my first time at a desk in an office. He was not pleased, but there was nothing that he could do."

"So what was your first time?" Aaron asked his tone only could homicidal.

"That night with you." Spencer looked at Aaron's hand as it curled pulling Spencer's tangled fingers with it. He had told himself that he wasn't going to tell Aaron anything about that but it felt right. "You've been my only sexual partner."

Spencer didn't know what to expect Aaron's reaction to be, but for Aaron to sit up and glare down at him. He couldn't read the look on Aaron's face, Aaron was looking at him like he looked at UnSub's.

"That time in your apartment was the first time you had been penetrated?" Aaron asked his tone emotionless.

"Aaron?" Spencer sat up, the sheet that had been covering him a little fell the rest of the way off of him. "Aaron?"

"Answer the question," Aaron demanded.

"Yes but-" Spencer stopped when Aaron got up off the bed and grabbed a pair of pants and slipped them on. Spencer looked at his pile of clothes as Aaron grabbed them up and tossed them onto the bed. He said nothing as he walked to the bathroom and shut the door. Spencer didn't know what to do. He dug through the pile of clothes and found his underwear and slipped them on. He didn't know what was wrong with Aaron. Spencer decided that getting dressed was probably the best thing for him to do. He slipped each piece of clothes on, and it felt like armor, like it used to be, even if it was rumpled. Aaron started up the shower in the bathroom, but Spencer knew that he wasn't in it yet as he could hear him moving on the floor.

Spencer stepped up to the bathroom door and tried the knob. It was locked. Spencer leaned his head against it. "Aaron, talk to me."

"Leave," Aaron said through the door.

"Aaron, please you are scaring me."

"Leave now, or I will call the cops and have them remove you." Aaron's voice sounded dead. Like it had that day that Aaron had married him and left him standing at the altar with nothing. Spencer's stomach lurched, and he felt like throwing up even though he hadn't eaten anything since the night before. Spencer felt like that wide-eyed kid again believing that meeting his soulmate was going to save him from the bad things in his life. Spencer looked around for his phone and found it on charge at the nightstand. It wasn't his charger, so he left it plugged in and just disconnected his phone. He left Aaron's bedroom and started to push it all away.

By the time that Spencer made it to the door and grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulder before slipping his feet into his shoes and tying them, he was hard against it all. As he shut the door behind him after locking it, Spencer realized that the alarm had never been set and that Morgan had dropped them off after he had joined them at the meal. Aaron's car was there, but Spencer's was at Quantico. The wind was chill with the morning air, and Spencer looked up into the sky to figure out which direction he was in and started west, where he knew businesses to be. It was going to be his best bet at getting a cab or even the bus. The bus would take him for less money to the train so he could go and get his car. Spencer would arrive a few minutes early to the bus stop that was closest to Aaron's. He remembered the times well from when he had lived with Aaron for that week while he was figuring out his life.

The bus was thankfully not too full for early morning, so Spencer was able to get a seat for himself. He wasn't going to cry over Aaron Hotchner again. He had done that enough in his life. Hell, Aaron had been the only person that had ever made him cry beside his mother. Spencer hadn't cried when his father had left, he had been strong for his mom. To show her that they could do it, they could be everything that either one of them needed.

Spencer saw the flash of the approaching stop that he wanted and pulled on the string to let the driver know that he wanted off. There was a small group of people wanting on at the stop so Spencer hustled off the bus and made his way to the train.

There was the whole weekend in front of him to get ready to face Aaron on Monday. He wasn't sure what he was going to face when he got there though.

"Reid?" Morgan called out from Spencer's left. Spencer looked to see him with Savannah and little Hank walking toward him. "I didn't expect to see you awake this early much less out and about."

"Just going to Quantico to get my car." Spencer really didn't want to do this. He really just wanted to get on the train and forget about everything.

"Hotch said last night that he was going to drive you to get it this afternoon," Morgan pointed and Spencer kind of remembered that but it was hazy and well...Aaron didn't want him.

"I told him not to worry about it."

"You know that I know when you are lying right?" Morgan asked.

Spencer turned away from him and looked at the train station right there. He was so damned close. He could make a run for it but that would just draw attention to him and possibly get him arrest for acting weird.

"Morgan, please, don't do this," Spencer pleaded.

"Honey, why don't I take Hank with me and I'll finish the shopping and you can pick us up after you get back?" Savannah said. She took Hank from Morgan's arms and kissed him on the cheek before she started to walk away, past where Spencer and Morgan were and in the direction they had been headed before Spencer had run into Morgan.

"I'm not going to demand that you talk. Your relationship with Hotch is yours and I remember the cease and desist that I got last time. However, I can see that you are barely holding on by a thread, so I don't want you getting on that train and getting mugged or some other shit. So come with me, and I'll take you to Quantico to get your car. I'm here to listen though, no matter when you need to talk." Morgan stepped up to Spencer and slipped an arm around Spencer's shoulder to direct him to where Morgan had parked the car.

Spencer was actually shocked to see that it was, in fact, the car and not the truck that they were driving but given that Hank was with them, he understood. Spencer buckled himself into the seat and looked ahead, not looking at Morgan. He kept himself from opening his mouth for over half of the trip before he signed and sunk down into his seat.

"Soulmates show us the best and worst about us. Did I ever tell you about Savannah and me?"

"No," Spencer said, and he meant it. Spencer knew that they had been married since the day they had met but that was all that Spencer knew.

"Savannah wanted to get into medical school, and I was still in college myself. We agreed to marry but not live together. I saw maybe once a year until she was done with school and into her residency. We talked on the phone a lot though. She bitched about school, and after I got into the BAU, I tried to keep it all apart from her, but it didn't stay that way for long. She became my everything, but still, we didn't want to live like a married couple. So we had hookups with each other when either one of us had an itch, but that was it. SHe didn't care about me going out and dancing and drinking with other women as long as I never slept with them. I feel in love with her slowly but surely, but I always wondered how he would have met before the government started that DNA program to match us up as eighteen-year-olds. I figured that it would be something stupid like moving in next to each other. Have you thought about that with you and Hotch?"

"It would have been when Gideon finally got me recruited into the BAU. He tried to get me to go to the Academy when I turned old enough starting at age seventeen," Spencer said.

"So, he would have had a lot of distance from Haley's death, and you guys would have fallen in love by working together."

"Yes."

"Sounds so much better than what happened. Hell, I think I like my do-over of Savannah and me better than what actually happened. What changed? What made the Government make it a right that couples had to marry?"

"It started with the fact that while everyone has a soulmate, not everyone actually needs one. Men saw it another way to subjugate women but colored it as a romantic thing. Never have to wonder about when and where. You are matched with your soulmate when you or they turn eighteen, whoever is youngest. It was romanticized, and the people believed it, but now there is no way to go back. It's a law, and no one has the power to challenge it. Hotch was the more dominant personality and I the younger, so the judge went with what he wanted. I don't know if the judge would have sided with me if I had known that I was going to be left there and wanted to defer. Who knows."

"You guys had been seemingly doing a lot better."

"Yes, I thought so as well. I guess really it's still not the time for us to fall in love yet. Talk about a cock tease, huh?" Spencer tried for levity but it fell flat, and Morgan didn't even try and laugh.

"I meant it, Reid. You need to talk, I am here."

"Thanks, Morgan but I've been taking care of myself for a long time." Spencer opened the door as Morgan stopped at the gate. One of the guards would be nice and drive him to his car, it had happened to before.

Morgan didn't try and call him back, and Spencer was glad of that. He was quite fine on his own. It was the fact of life for him. Everyone left him in their own way.


	5. Fated

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta: Grammarly

# Chapter 5-Fated

Aaron saw him out of the corner of his eye two weeks before. Breakfast out after a hard case that had them getting back to DC just as the day started. So it was decided that they should eat out before going and finishing their file for the case and then go home to sleep. If it hadn't been for the fact that Dave had seen him too, Aaron would have chalked it up to being too tired.

Peter Lewis hadn't been spotted since he escaped, until that day. Everyone from the DOJ to the Director of the FBI had made sure that Aaron's file was clean after being taken into custody nearly a year before and marked as a terrorist. Despite everything that Aaron had done to Spencer, the young man still stood behind him, marching to where Aaron was being held and demanding to see him. As soulmates, no one could deny him that right. The big shock came when Spencer had set himself as Aaron's lawyer. Aaron had known that Spencer had passed the bar, but he hadn't been aware that Spencer had kept up with everything, much as Aaron did.

Dave had called Spencer out to help them deal with a subject that seemed to be off but not drugs off. When Spencer was done with that, he had come back. Demanding to see Aaron again but this time he had got Aaron released. It just wasn't in time to stop the first breakout attempt or the ones that followed that allowed thirteen killers free.

Everyone on the team was ready for the fact that Lewis would be stalking Aaron. It was his MO just usually he did it online. He had to be getting desperate to have Lewis stalk him in person. Aaron wasn't sure what the man was going to gain from it. Aaron had no significant other or a child to kill in a drugged frenzy. Spencer was his only weakness, but the shame of what Aaron had done to him still kept him apart from Spencer.

Aaron could still feel the utter disgust he felt for himself after what he had done. Spencer might be able to forgive Aaron, but Aaron couldn't forgive himself. No matter Spencer's intentions, he had made Aaron's first time taking a cock a special night. It had been incredible, and Aaron had made Spencer's first time a thing full of anger. It didn't matter that there had been two more times after that, Aaron hated himself for what he had done to his soulmate.

Spencer had spotted Lewis one other time a week before. It had been when he was alone but driving Aaron's car. Aaron and Dave had been in a meeting, and Spencer had offered to get lunch. He hadn't driven in so Aaron had offered his car. Lewis had disappeared before the MPD had arrived. Aaron had figured that Lewis was mistaken, seeing Aaron's car leaving and had followed, not realizing that he was following Spencer instead of Aaron.

Until today. Today Lewis had been spotted outside of Spencer's apartment. Aaron had not been to Spencer's apartment, ever. So there was no reason for Lewis to watch there. Both of their work files listed their soulmates as classified and it was only on a paper file in HR that no one had access to. Every agent's mate was recorded the same way to protect them. While many lived with their mate, there was a high rate of divorce between soulmates that were agents or deferrals.

Aaron didn't care the status of their relationship; Spencer needed to be protected. While he was safe from the natural turn of becoming schizophrenic, a psychotic break could still happen, especially if he was dosed with the stuff that Lewis used. The Marshal Service had already been called by Cruz. Aaron though was going to offer Spencer the same option that Garcia had taken, staying inside of Quantico. Aaron was watching the bullpen where Spencer was talking to Alvez about what he saw. Alvez was a good asset to the team at the moment with helping them catch the killers that were loose. Aaron closed his eyes to relax for a few minutes.

The door slamming had Aaron jumping up.

"You were going to stick me in WitSec without asking?" Spencer demanded.

"No. However, they had to be called to get them ready in case you took it. The only other option is what Garcia did when the assassins were after her, never leaving Quantico."

"I refuse," Spencer said.

"I figured that you would, that's why I called the Marshals."

"No, I refuse both options. I won't run and hide and force the team to hunt him without me. I've done enough running in my life, Hotch."

The name stung like it always did when they were alone. Before that morning, that stupid hungover morning where Spencer had revealed everything to Aaron, in private he had been Aaron for a while. Since that day where Aaron had thrown him out of the house, he had been Hotch. Always Hotch. It hurt, but it was best that way.

"He wants to either kill you to get to me or have you kill me, or I kill you. There is no upside to this, Spencer. He's proven to be very adept at hiding, and no one can track him. He will wait, and he will try his hardest to complete his goal."

"And? I know he's after me now. I can protect myself better. I upgraded the alarm on my apartment, and I change the code on a schedule, and I'm the only one that knows the code. The building I live in has cameras that run on their own power supply, and the second it's cut, the cops are called. There is security there twenty-four seven. What more do you fucking want from me?"

"I want you to be safe."

"You don't have a say in that anymore. You are the one who told me to leave and wouldn't talk to me. I tried. I went to your office that Monday morning and said that we needed to talk and you told me that professionally you had nothing to talk to me about and there was nothing between us personally. So tell me, Hotch, if there is nothing between us personal why do you have the right to demand anything?"

"I am your boss, and I order you to get into Witness Protection."

"Fine. I quit." Spencer pulled a letter out of his back pocket and tossed it onto Aaron's desk. "I have enough leave saved up that I can take it as my two weeks. Sorry to leave you with a mess but I realized that the only reason you are keeping me around is to protect me. I'm where you can see and so I'm safe."

Spencer turned around to walk to the office door, and Aaron couldn't take it. He pushed himself up out of his chair and near ran at the door to brace his arm on it as Spencer spend it. The door slammed shut, and Aaron was sure that someone was going to get curious.

"You are not going anywhere," Aaron said harshly in Spencer's ear. "If you leave this building, you are doing so with the Marshals."

"You can't order me around as a private citizen, Hotch."

"No, but I will as your soulmate. I'll take it to court, get you declared non-competent to make decisions about your life and then you'll be forced to do what I want or go to prison."

"You just keep digging to make me hate you, don't you. Is that what you want?" Spencer shoved back with his body, putting enough distance to where Spencer could turn to look at him. Spencer shocked Aaron even more by shoving him so hard that Aaron had to take several steps back to not fall. "You want me to do what you want, when you want and won't even do the courtesy of fucking me. At least then you can have a reason to want to control my life. You chose for me to leave. You chose to cut me off, and I will not roll over and do what you want, Aaron Hotchner. You can go fuck yourself and this job too."

Spencer jerked the door open, and he was gone. There was no way that Dave missed any of that if he was in his office. Aaron just stared as Spencer started to pack up his desk, JJ, Tara, and Alvez was talking to him.

"Reid," A voice called out, and Aaron looked shocked as a woman pushed through the glass doors. "Where do you think you are going?"

"To talk to Cruz and see about maybe taking that offering in White Collar in Vegas that I was offered three weeks ago."

"Hmm. No. You are not."

"Who called you?"

"No one called me. Penny keeps me informed of everything about you. She alerted me that an UnSub had targeted you to get at your mate. I knew from everything that it would end with you running. You are going to march your ass to wherever WitSec has holed up to talk to you, and you are going to go with them. I don't want a notification that you are being held for killing someone or have to attend your funeral."

"That's below the belt."

"No, what's happening next is below the belt. My team and your team voted. You aren't going alone."

"What?"

"You and Hotch are not getting it together. We all know that you love each other, but you run, or he runs, and nothing gets fixed so, both of you are going into WitSec, and the Director of the FBI is going to make it mandatory. You two are either going to get your shit together, or you are going to kill one another in WitSec."

"WitSec is voluntary," Spencer said as he glanced at where Aaron was standing.

"And you will voluntarily go into it, or we will make your lives a living hell," Carmen said.

Aaron looked at her and then at his team. He knew that they all meant business. Spencer turned around and looked at Aaron. Assessing him. Aaron swallowed because he knew that the whole of everything would come out while they were trapped together. Aaron knew that he hurt Spencer every day by not allowing the younger man close to him but that hurt was nothing compared to the hurt that Aaron had already done to him and would do to him in the future because as much as they were soulmates and they loved each other, they hurt each other. The blame for that was laid solely on the hands of the Government and not letting them get together on their own.

"I'll do it," Aaron said.

Spencer's eyes narrowed, and he looked away from Aaron before he nodded.

# Six Months Later

Spencer ran through the living room, trying to escape Aaron's grasp but the slick just waxed living room floor betrayed him and his socked feet, and he fell onto the couch. Aaron was right there behind him, rolling him onto his back and straddling his waist. Spencer reached up to shove him off, but Aaron caught his hands and pinned them to the arm of the couch above his head.

"I win," Aaron crowed.

"Fine, fine, I'll cook dinner," Spencer said sighing loudly as he did but grinning. Aaron leaned down and kissed him. Spencer reached out for the TV remote, aiming to shut the TV off as the news didn't hold his interest anymore, food and sex did. He didn't grab the remote though but instead hit the unmute button.

" _Authorities say that the man in question was a wanted fugitive who escaped from Federal custody in the escape over a year ago_ ," a female voice on the TV said.

Spencer jerked his face away from Aaron, who didn't care and started to press kisses down Spencer's throat before nipping at the juncture where his slightly unbuttoned shirt met skin.

" _I have just been handed the name of the man, Peter Lewis._ "

"Aaron," Spencer said, and he shook Aaron's shoulder.

"Concentrating," Aaron whispered before he started to suck a hickey into Spencer's skin.

"Aaron!" Spencer said, and he shoved at Aaron harder this time, showing him that Spencer meant business.

"What?!" Aaron demanded, looking at Spencer slightly upset.

Spencer pointed at the TV. Aaron grumbled but turned his head, and that was when Rossi was flashed on the screen, talking to several members of the MPD.

"So the team is on a case, what's new?"

"No. You didn't hear?" Spencer asked. He grabbed the remote and rewound the broadcast.

" _Authorities say that the man in question was a wanted fugitive who escaped from Federal custody in the escape over a year ago. I have just been handed the name of the man, Peter Lewis._ "

Aaron gasped, and he sat up on the couch, watching the replay of the scene with Rossi. Spencer sat up as well, and when Aaron turned to look at him, Aaron was grinning. Spencer didn't fight it when Aaron pulled him close to straddle Aaron's lap. Spencer leaned in and gave Aaron as good as he got in the kiss.

The past six months had been full of a lot of different things. The first two weeks had been hell. Aaron and Spencer had spent more time fighting than doing anything else. There were nights where they ate across the table from each other and said nothing. The cooking rotation had been set up by JJ and Tara, as well as the cleaning and other various things. That way they would have one less thing to fight about. The only thing that stopped them from killing each other was that their lives had been micromanaged by the team before they even set themselves up in the new life.

Spencer was a teacher of science at a local high school; his educational background faked for him to be able to do it. Aaron was working as a law clerk in the local courthouse. Both were low enough that they didn't worry about being recognized. It was hard though to find a place that neither of them had been to in the course of their work that also afforded them enough cover as newlywed couples. Thankfully, they were both excellent at being introverts to where no one questioned them wanting to be at home for days on end instead of being out there and acting lovey-dovey with each other.

The change had been slow, and it had started when Spencer had broken his arm just three weeks into them being in the town. The injury seemed to break whatever was keeping Aaron apart from him and had allowed the man to actually talk about what was wrong, why he had been so driven to drive Spencer away from him after finding out about Spencer's first time being penetrated. What had followed had been a week of talking about everything. There was nothing left in their lives that they didn't know about each other. Spencer remembered more his younger years, but Aaron had more years in general.

Then five months of truly and totally falling in love with each other.

Aaron's hands came up to cup the sides of Spencer's face, and Spencer could feel the press of metal on his skin. While warmed to the temperature of Aaron's skin, Spencer could still feel the smoothness of the metal. It made him shiver like it did every other time. The rings might not be genuinely valid as Spencer Reid and Aaron Hotchner was not married to each other, they promised that when they got out of hiding, they were going to do it. They had spent the last month planning it, and now they could do it.

Then they could get on with their lives in the BAU

# The End

**Author's Note:**

> So for those of you who are tuning in late or rereading this thing (if it's the second, we need to take about doing things that hurt yourself, just kidding) you will see that this hasn't been updated in a long while. It's not be abandoned but instead what was at first a one short turned into not so much a one shot long after posting so instead of making it a series, it fits better as one long story. So YAY more chapters!


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